There is a solemn and elegant Cao Gong Temple in Fengshan City, Taiwan Province. The eye-catching plaque is engraved with golden characters "King Gong Yu" and "Ze Pei Qun, Li Ze Hui Si Min". One of the couplets reads:
"His achievements in government have been recorded in the annals of history
The legacy of Kaizhen's irrigation will be in the world for thousands of years."
Main Hall There is a golden statue enshrined on it. Every time Cao Gong's birthday (November 1st), people here would hold a grand ceremony to remember their benefactor.
Build water conservancy projects to cure the root causes and enrich the people
Mr. Cao, who is deeply respected and remembered by the people of Taiwan, was named Jin, styled Huaipu, and given the name Ding'an. He was born in 1786 and died in 1849 at the age of 63 years old. Cao Jin was a native of Hanoi County, Huaiqing Prefecture of the Qing Dynasty (now Qinyang City, Henan Province). In the seventeenth year of Daoguang's reign (1838), Cao Jin was appointed governor of Fengshan County, Taiwan. When Cao Jin first went to Fengshan County to take office, he encountered two major problems. One was the rise of thieves and social disorder; the other was a severe drought, no harvest, and the people were hungry and cold. Cao Jin believed that the people were thieves, and most of them were forced by hunger and cold. He decided to dig canals to divert water from freshwater streams to irrigate tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland. Just when the project was in full swing, people were confused by the theory of Feng Shui and believed that digging trenches would inevitably move graves and destroy the underground aura. Some people blocked the construction, causing the project to come to a halt. Later, Cao Jin invited the squires who had always had high hopes to come forward to preach and guide, and finally convinced the people by knowing the benefits and benefits, and the project was able to continue. In addition to his official duties, Cao Jin walked to the construction site to express condolences and chatted and laughed with the craftsmen. Everyone was very inspired and worked hard to forge ahead. After more than two years of hard work, Jiuqu pond was opened, embankments and gates were built, and 44 ditches (field ditches) were built, with a total length of more than 130 kilometers, which can be irrigated and flooded, so that 19,215 acres of land can maintain harvests despite drought and floods, which can be regarded as the best in Taiwan. The largest water conservancy project. In order to avoid disputes over water between upstream and downstream, regulations were also drawn up to take turns watering. From then on, Fengshan's "harvests doubled, the people were happy and prosperous, the houses were built and hid, and thieves did not arise." This project was named "Cao Gongzhen" and a monument was engraved on it. Later, Cao Jin sent people to build 46 new towns, which could irrigate 12,400 acres of fields. At this time, Cao Jin had been transferred to Tamsui Tongzhi, but in order to commemorate his contribution, people still named it "Cao Gong New Town". These two projects are still effective today. Cao Jin is revered as the originator of water conservancy in Taiwan.
Strengthen the army and defend against foreign aggression
In August of the 21st year of Daoguang (1842), British ships invaded Jilongkou (now Keelung Port) in Taiwan. Cao Jin personally led the army and civilians to fight tenaciously. The British troops were beaten to the point where their masts and ropes were broken, and they ran aground on rocks during their retreat. The British troops fell into the water one after another, and countless people died. On September 13th, Cao Jin led his troops to repel the British attack again, and Emperor Daoguang praised him for his "wisdom and bravery, which greatly promoted the country's prestige." Since the coastline in Cao Jin's jurisdiction was long and difficult to fortify, he used sacks of sand to build fortifications at areas from Jilong to Da'an where enemy ships could land, and organized village warriors to take turns keeping watch. In September of the 22nd year of Daoguang (1843), the British army invaded. Cao Jin adopted the strategy of luring the enemy deep and preparing an ambush, destroying an enemy ship and seizing a variety of firearms. After the failure of the Opium War, the British forced the Qing government to punish the officers and soldiers who resisted the invasion. Governor Yiliang knew that Cao Jin was innocent and had an upright temperament, so he asked Cao Jin: "What will happen?" Cao Jin replied: "But when it comes to national affairs What? I don’t want to do it, but people do it. If the crime is committed, I will be willing to do it, but it is not appropriate for the people to risk their lives to catch the thief. " After hearing this, Yi Liang sighed: "What a husband!" /p>
Strict official system to promote culture and education
Cao Jin was lenient in governing the people and strict in governing officials. He once posted a notice in front of his official office: "Strictly use Xu Chai to extort fees." In the government offices of the Qing Dynasty, Most of them had this kind of extortion, and Cao Jin tried his best to eliminate the abuses.
In the 24th year of Daoguang (1845), Cao Jin was in charge of the position of Tamsui Department. At that time, large-scale fighting broke out among residents from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, which shocked neighboring counties. Cao Jin personally went to the junction of Changhua and Tamsui and stayed in Dajia for more than 10 days to understand the situation and plan a good strategy to resolve the matter.
He believed that this kind of group fight would become more chaotic if he mobilized troops to suppress it, so he invited the elders of both sides to come over. He showed great righteousness and interests, and ordered them to strictly control their subordinates, and finally calmed down the armed fight. .
Cao Jin is a political person who can weigh priorities, grasp major issues related to the overall situation, and deploy implementation plans. During his five years in Tamsui, he devoted himself to water conservancy. After the completion of the New and Old Shenzhen projects, Cao Jin prioritized the revitalization of culture and education and worked hard to develop culture and education. In order to popularize education, he set up rural schools, published scriptures, encouraged children to recite, and rewarded children with outstanding academic performance by giving money and cakes. To motivate students, examinations are also held regularly. Under his guidance, young people were diligent and eager to learn, and the culture of seeking knowledge flourished here.
Cao Jin’s legacy will be passed down to future generations
Cao Jin stayed in Taiwan for eight years, building water conservancy, fending off foreign aggression, fighting bandits, and promoting culture and education. His legacy was endless and he won the hearts of the people. In order to commemorate Cao Jin's kindness, the people of Taiwan built the Cao Gong Temple in Fengshan in the 10th year of Xianfeng (1861). It was later repaired and expanded many times. It was also named after Caogong Road, Caogong County, and Caogong National Primary School, and its tablets were enshrined in Dezheng Temple, which was named Huan Temple. During the Fengshan Cultural Festival in 1998, Fengshan people carried a statue of Cao Jin around the city of Fengshan, attracting countless citizens to burn incense and kneel in worship.
Taiwanese trace their roots to Zhangzhou and Quan, and then to Henan. The people of Taiwan are very fascinated by Cao Jin's ancestral home. On August 28, 1999, a visiting delegation from Kaohsiung County, Taiwan came to Qinyang City, Henan Province. On August 1, 2000, they organized 26 Taiwanese cultural and historical workers, teachers, and students to hold a grand visit ceremony at Cao Jin's grave. The incense ashes brought from Taiwan's Cao Gong Temple were sprinkled on the tomb. The tomb soil was also filled with incense ash bottles, mixed with the remaining incense ash, and brought back to Cao Gong Temple in Taiwan. They said excitedly: "Gong Cao's spirit of dedication, service, being close to the people, and loving the people has set an example for future generations. We want future generations to know that there is such a respectable and good official in Fengshan and Tamsui, Taiwan. It is inseparable from Qinyang’s thousands of years of cultural influence.”